Set The Fire To The Third Bar
by popscb
Summary: Inspired by the song of the same name :) This little story shows my version of events leading up to those darn Flash forwards...with some obvious differences because my Steroline needs some loving !
1. Chapter 1

**Set the fire to the third bar**

 **My first TVD fic so I hope you and enjoy! This is just my take of the future ...**

She took out the map that had been sat in the same draw for the past 12 months. Her hand shaking as she opened it, smoothing out some of the crinkles that lay in the paper. Never in the 12 months they'd been separated had she become this desperate, had she become so haunted by the voice in her head that she had considered going back _there,_ back to _him._

Closing her eyes briefly she took the pencil sitting on the side table and drew a small circle on the map where she was. Her eyes drifting across the paper to draw another where he was. On paper it looked only centimetres apart, a finger length if that. But in reality it was miles, over a thousand of them. She drew a line between the two circles, subconsciously mapping out a route of some sorts. The line went across state lines, from the place she was to where she knew he was sure to be. If the last year had taught her anything it was that she was a creature of habit, one who enjoyed her home comforts and this place she was currently residing definitely wasn't home. She hadn't spoken to him properly an entire year and yet she still felt exactly the same, it wasn't that she didn't love him, it was that she couldn't, their love was challenged, it was perfect to them but not to the rest of the world and it seemed in the short time they had managed to keep things together, everything else was destined to tear them apart.

A couple of tear drops hit the paper, sitting there for a few seconds before absorbing into the paper. She didn't want to cry but she had no choice in the matter, anything that came to him made her emotional. His voice in her head made her smile at the same time the tears fell, it was painful and joyful all at the same time. She would literally give anything to hear his voice again, to see his gorgeous green eyes, to feel his lips against as hers as he told her loved and that no matter what she would always have him. But all that changed, in the matter of a few months everything changed, their lives were flipped upside down in a twisted reality that changed the rest of their lives.

Letting her finger run across the map once more, she stood up from the sofa taking the map and the pencil with her as she darted up the stairs and to the room she had labelled her bedroom. She didn't know what it was that made her do it, instinct perhaps? Or that magnetic pull that seemed to keep her connected to him no matter where she went? She took her suitcase from the bottom of her closet, throwing in anything she could, as quick as she could. Doing the same in the bathroom and the other rooms upstairs before she went to her lounge and wrote two words on a piece of paper leaving them perched by the lamp "I'm sorry".

Placing 'supplies' in a cool bag, she locked the front door, threw her things in the car and drove, not once looking back. She was either stupid or crazy to be doing this, it was dangerous and potentially life threatening for everyone involved, but she didn't care…a 24 hour drive and the risk of potential death was nothing if she got to see him just one last time.

"Call Tyler" she called out to her car, smiling when the hands free system began to dial out. After a few rings he answered.

"Caroline Forbes, how can I be off assistance?" she could hear the smile in his voice

"I need your help…"

"What's broken now? And why can't Lover boy fix it?"

She swallowed the lump in her throat "A, there is nothing going on between Matt and I, B nothing ever will happen between Matt and I and C…I'm not home." The end of her sentence seemed to trial off a little.

"What do you mean you aren't home?" he asked "Where about are you Caroline?"

"Erm…" she hesitated, not wanting to tell him but also needed his help if she was going to do this.

"Caroline…"

She looked at one of the road signs as she drove past "I-30 Arkansas" she told him preparing for the reaction that was about to hit.

"Arkansas? Why the hell are you…" her face scrunched at his words knowing he'd figured out what she was doing. "No, Caroline You can't. You know you can't…" she could almost picture his face getting angry.

"Too late Tyler. I'm on my way to New York. Are you going to help me or not?" she asked

There was a sigh and then a deep growl "Do I have much choice? You're going to do what you want anyway, with or without my help" Caroline smiled, he knew her too well. "What do you need?"

She spent the next 30 minutes of the drive explaining her plan to Tyler, although she had to admit it was extremely flawed and altogether the most stupid thing she's done. "Do you think you can do that?" she finished

"Yes, I'm not happy about this Caroline. I don't want to see you hurt…"

"We'll be fine." She said gasping when she realised she'd let slip.

"We? Caroline tell me you haven't?" he groaned again

"What Tyler? I wasn't leaving her was I?"

"You've just put an even bigger target on your back, if anyone finds out…"

"Well there aren't going to." She said firmly "Please Tyler don't say anything."

"Fine. Just drive safe and I'll see you in New Jersey." He told her "And Care? Don't be tempted to drive through Mystic Falls, it's a ghost town now…"

"I know I can't go back there"

 **A little confused? intrigued ? Who is Caroline going to see, who is with her ? and what's happened to lead to this situation now?" back soon !**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The drive was taking much more out of Caroline than she thought it would, she was tired hungry and still had emotions running riot. She had been driving for 8 hours when night fall reached and she decided to make a pit stop in some little town near Nashville. The town looked quiet and reminded her very much of Mystic falls back when she was younger. She pulled into a parking lot near a motel and glanced into the back seat of the car, had she done the right thing? After the complete rush and rash decision, she hadn't had the chance to fully consider the full consequences, would he even be in New York still? She was sure he was but that didn't mean anything anymore. She was sure he loved her but then he did what he did. She shook her head, now wasn't the time for those kind of thoughts, because if she over thought it she'd be back down the highway and living a lie in Dallas for the rest of her life which was pretty damn long…

She tuned in her hearing, noting there want much around other than some music playing in a bar a little down the way. She was interrupted from her thoughts as a louder sound brought her back to reality. A group of people were stumbling past, drunkenly laughing and singing. Then the smell of bourbon hit her, it reminded her of him…he always smelt like a mixture of bourbon and aftershave, one that she could never seem to find. Eventually she turned off the engine, gathering all she needed and made her way to the motel reception.

"Good evening honey…"

Caroline wasn't in the mood for pleasantries and despite really hating using her 'power' she leaned over the desk staring straight into the eyes of the innocent woman "You are going to give me a room. You will not ask questions and by morning you won't remember I was even here."

The young woman reached beneath the desk and handed Caroline a key "Room 3"

"Thank you" she quickly took the key and retreated to the room, locking all doors firmly behind her as she settled on the bed. She glanced around the room, seeing the damp patches crawling the walls made her skin crawl. Moving suddenly from the bed she reached into the cool box coming back with a blood bag. "Finally…" she let her teeth sink into the little plastic cap, the blood flowing into her mouth. It tasted good. Really good. Every time she fed, blood bag or other she was always reminded of him. If it wasn't for him she was sure she wouldn't be alive right now. Actually she knew she wouldn't be. She would be really dead. Finishing the blood bag she lay the empty packet on the side and lay back on the bed, staring up at the celling.

No matter where she was, who she was with, she never fell to sleep with ease anymore. She couldn't find peace of mind. Her eyes closed and were instantly greeted with his face one more, his perfect smile…the laughter from another room erupted again, interrupting her silence. Her heart broke as the images vanished from her head…he was simply a ghost in her memory.

Her head turned slightly, a small smile on her lips as she saw her still sleeping. She had no idea about all the drama going on around her and Caroline wished it could always be that way. But she knew that wasn't possible, that it was extreme wishful thinking to think anything in her life could resemble any type of normality. "If only you knew…" Caroline whispered softly, turning on her side. "I promise I'll never let anything happen to you. Never."

It took another hour for her to fall to sleep, but even then her dreams were filled with him, and she knew they were dreams because they were together. He had never left, she hadn't been forced to run and he knew…he knew about the one thing Caroline was so intent on keeping a secret, the thing she was protecting with her life, literally.

There were only three people who knew her secret. Tyler, Matt and the woman responsible...Valarie. Caroline knew it was an act of malice on Valarie's part, yet one misjudged spell created an unbelievable reality that landed her in deep trouble. Caroline wouldn't change it though, how could she?

Matt knew purely because they had needed to leave mystic falls and Caroline had no choice but to tell him. It was then that he vowed to help her. It had been a decision Caroline had been extremely thankful for as he and Tyler were the ones that got her through it. The decision to tell Tyler wasn't one made easily but was a decision that had been made by matt. He'd told Caroline that she was going to need someone of the supernatural sort to help because his protection only went so far and telling anyone back in mystic falls was out of the question, they had also hoped that Tyler may have some more information on the situation than they did.

"Hey baby girl…" Caroline whispered, watching as her eyes connected with the little green ones staring back up to her. Caroline could see her bottom lip begin to quiver as she looked at her unfamiliar surroundings, then the tears came. She quickly reached into the car seat lifting her and bringing her close to her chest "It's ok baby…Mammas here…"

 **What's going on? Caroline's a Mamma? how ? why is such a secret ? back soon :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Only an hour later than expected, Caroline arrived in New Jersey. Her heart was pounding triple speed in her chest, she was nervous. Really nervous. She knew exactly what Tyler was going to say; how he was going to try and convince her that she was doing a really stupid thing, that she didn't know what she was getting herself into. She could recall several times in the past year in which similar discussions had been had, many of which had ended up with she and Tyler vamp fighting in nearby woods and then Tyler comforting her as she cried.

After an entire year of thinking, waiting and doing everything she could to forget about him, it had gotten too much. She couldn't bear to spend another day with him not knowing. Without seeing his face, without getting answers to all those questions that had lay unanswered for the last 12 months. One look into the backseat at her daughter and she knew it was a risk she had to take. She had sent a message to Tyler telling him the estimated time of arrival so he should've been arriving at any second. "Come on Tyler, where the heck are you?" she looked around at the surrounding area where he'd told her they'd meet, it didn't look particularly safe "This place is creeping me out…" she murmured only to be interrupted by a soft knock on the glass. He was there.

She quickly climbed from the car, locking the doors again and moving into his awaiting arms. He held her tight, his arms circling her and squeezing her against him "You are the craziest person I have ever known" he chuckled "Thank god you're safe. You weren't followed or anything were you?"

She shook her head "No, compelled anyone I had contact with to forget I existed. There's no trace of me." She said with a soft smile. "Did anyone suspect anything? You know you just leaving?"

"If you mean did he ask me where I was off too? no. Does he suspect something? Yes. They all do Care. Everyone suspects everything and everyone. The only person no one ever mentions is you, apart from him…no one can contact you"

Caroline scoffed "Being trying has he?" silence "exactly." She sighed "Anyway none of that matters right now. We need to go before someone starts asking questions and my child starts screaming blue murder because she's hungry, bored or whatever it is that takes her fancy this time" she sighed. "The attitude of her father..."

"How is my favourite mini blonde?" Tyler asked

"Grumpy, she's about as sick of this situation as her Mamma is" Caroline said pointedly, rolling her eyes Tyler just stood and stared "she's fine. In the back seat…"

Tyler was quickly over to the back of the car, reaching into the back as Caroline unlocked the door. "Hey squide…" he laughed lifting her into his arms and spinning her around, making her smile and giggle a little.

"Her name is Grace; Tyler, would it kill you to use it?"

"Say yes Mamma it would, I like Uncle Ty calling me Squide" Tyler said looking at Grace but was aiming his words at Caroline. "I can't believe how much she looks like you Care, she's your double"

"You think?" Caroline asked taking Grace from him as she reached out for her. "I don't really see it…" Caroline kissed Grace's forehead. "Every time I look at her it's like looking at him…"

Tyler nodded "She definitely has his eyes."

"Yeah and don't I know it." Caroline laughed "She can get anything with those eyes." Grace began to fidget in her arms a little as she went to put her back in the car seat. "I know, you don't like the car seat. We won't be long baby I promise…" she shut the car door again and turned back to Tyler.

"You shouldn't have brought her with you Caroline." he sighed

"I'm sorry" she started a little sarcastically "but she's my daughter, you know what I went through to make sure she was safe, I nearly died having her Tyler. I'd do anything in the world to protect her and I swore I was never leaving her from the day she was born. That doesn't change now. Where I go, Grace goes. So if you can't get your head around that you should go now and I'll go on my own."

"Stop care ok, I won't let you do it on your own. I know how much Grace means to you, I made a promise to the pair of you too remember?" Caroline nodded "Good. So let's go, I'll go first, you follow. We'll go straight to his alright?"

She swallowed "I'm scared Tyler. What if after everything he meant what he did?"

"Don't kid yourself Caroline. He loved you, he still does, and you both did what you did because of that love. Nothing's changed…"

"Everything's changed." she said and Tyler knew she was right. Everything had changed.

It was early evening when they arrived in New York, both cars parking a little down the way from the house Tyler had taken them too. "Are you ready?"

"No. But it's now or never." She took a step forward and then turned back to Tyler "I think I need to do this on my own"

"Is that wise?"

"what's the worst that can happen?" she shrugged "I'm going to need Grace…"

Tyler handed the car seat over "I'll wait right here."

Nodding, Caroline stepped up the few steps onto the porch and moved forward raising her hand, knocking several times on the wooden door. Her heart increased speed as she heard footsteps approach. Then the door opened and he stood in front of her. "Caroline…" his word was the breaking of her, her tears falling. She saw him look her over, his eyes reaching the car seat to which he swallowed. He stepped onto the porch, putting his arm around her for a split second as an act of impulse and then released her. "What's going on?" she didn't answer. "Come on let's get you inside before your seen"

She didn't move when he moved inside "you need to invite me in…"

"Sorry I forgot. Come in Caroline…" his eyes locked on Grace again "both of you…" She smiled slightly stepping inside with Grace, it took precisely 5 seconds before the car seat was on the floor and she was wrapped in his arms, the need to just be close too each other too hard to resist "Why are you here? And why do you have a baby with you Caroline, a baby who looks exactly like you and I?"

Wiping her eyes Caroline lifted a sleepy Grace "I couldn't not be with you any longer. She's my daughter…our Daughter, Stefan"

 **So question answered, baby Grace is Stefan's...but how? vampires cant have children right? back soon :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Stefan stared, frozen to the spot trying to comprehend what he'd just heard. "I'm sorry did you just say our daughter?" he questioned, stepping back a couple of paces which put a little distance between himself and Caroline.

"Yes." Was her simple answer.

A small smile tugged at his lips before it was washed away with confusion, fear and a little sadness. Sitting back on the sofa his hand ran through his ever perfect hair, his eyes still firmly attached to Caroline who was gently bouncing Grace trying to keep her asleep. "I don't understand...how is this even possible?"

"Trust me I've asked myself the same question over and over for the last 12 months and I still don't fully understand how this happened…or how it as possible" Caroline said softly, the atmosphere growing tenser by the second.

Stefan shook his head, was he dreaming? He looked Caroline up and down, she was still as beautiful as ever. She was thinner than when he last saw her, her hair slightly longer but still in its perfect blonde curls. She was standing in a very thin blue cardigan, draped over a summer dress, she still looked like the Caroline he knew and loved but at the same time she didn't; part of her looked missing. It was the look on her face that got to him the most. She wasn't smiling, if he had to guess it seemed she hadn't smiled properly for some time. The look in her eyes was pleading with him, they were glazed with tears and fear - fear he would reject her after so long apart. She cradled Grace tightly to her body, the little girl curling into her mother's embrace.

"Say something Stefan Please…let me know what you're thinking." She pleaded with him.

He stood from the sofa, pausing for a few seconds before speeding towards her and holding her. He felt her body fall into his as he held her, his arms creating a soothing balm, a haven that she never wanted to leave. She felt Grace move in her arms, seemingly enjoying Stefan's hug as much as she was.

"I'm thinking that this is crazy…that you are crazy." He smiled a little removing her slightly from his embrace. "But you're here and I have a child... we have a child…I've missed you every single second you've been gone."

"I've thought about you constantly for the last 12 months." she said "There hasn't been a day when I haven't thought about coming to find you, to tell you about Grace, to ask why you broke it off…"

Stefan closed his eyes briefly "I think we both have things we need to explain right?" She nodded "We should sit down…do you want anything?" The word 'you' was on the tip of her tongue but she just shook her head "You can sit down Caroline…"

Doing as he asked she sat on the sofa, Grace in her arms still. They sat side by side in an awkward silence "soo…do you want me to start? Or?" Caroline said softly.

"Sorry, this is just…I didn't expect to see you again Caroline, let alone for you to turn up unannounced on my doorstep with a baby." He told her "How exactly did you find me anyway?"

"Ah…that would be an educated guess and a very good friend of mine who I know you are probably going to hate when you find out he's been helping me."

"Tyler…" Stefan whispered "I knew he was up to something. I guess he knows about this…situation" Caroline nodded "How many other people knew about my daughter before I did Caroline?"

She swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat, but internally smiled as he said 'my daughter'. "Just Matt and Tyler…and Valarie…"

"Valarie?" he raised his voice only for Caroline to shush him.

"Keep your voice down. She'll wake up at the drop of a hat. And yes, Valarie…she was the cause of this. Well I guess you and I sleeping together was the cause of this but…because of her, Grace happened." A gentle smile fell on her lips as she looked down at Grace.

"How did it happen? What did she do to you?"

"I'm still not 100% clear. But Tyler has contacts from when he was on his lone ranger trip to un sire himself from Klaus and he managed to find out a little from some witch in New Orleans, from what we found out, Valarie syphoned me. She used a spell that allowed my body to procreate but in the process it was a spell she knew had the potential to kill me and also the baby…it isn't the first known case of a two vampires creating a child but saying that, their child was achieved by the use of very dark magic, not dissimilar to the phoenix stone. The spell was a gift and a curse for the one it was put upon. Valarie had great pleasure in telling me that I was pregnant and that I was going to feel the pain that she did and so would you…"

Stefan's hand reached for Caroline's, holding it tightly in his own. "Why didn't you tell me?" he asked having wondered why she hadn't said anything when it was clear that she had known. "I would have been there for you Caroline..."

"I know you would have...I tried." She said softly "The day you broke it off…I was going to tell you." Stefan closed his eyes, feeling the pain from that day rushing back to him. "I didn't understand, after everything we'd been through, how it was so easy for you to say we couldn't be together, for you to tell me I needed to leave. And Valerie had told me I was pregnant, she'd shown me visions of things that made me hate what she'd done to me, to us… and all the insecurities that old Caroline had, came rushing back. I didn't understand why…"

"I was trying to protect you Caroline. There's a vampire hunter out there who wants me dead and she is not the type of person who gives in easily. You were my downfall, my Achilles heel. If I told you to stay…"

"We would have been together Stefan, we'd could have fought her together…" She jumped in.

"No, one or both of us would be dead. I had to let you go and live a life which you weren't running from. You are the one person they knew could get to me…Lilly knew it, Valarie obviously knew it…and so would the hunter Caroline. The heretics could protect themselves and they weren't going to help any of us. I couldn't stay with you because you were my weakness, you still are, the hunter and the heretics would have used you to get to me and I couldn't right that..." He told her, his hand cupping her cheek gently. "You'll always be the one thing I'd lose my life for…although, I have a feeling one thing may have just become two" he smiled looking down at Grace. "Knowing you were pregnant though Caroline, that just makes the decision a little easier to take." he confessed "You would have been in even more danger."

"I've had my fair share of danger Stefan…I've been living a lie for the year in the middle of a freaking ranch in Texas. I've been keeping Grace a secret so no one finds out about her, about who she is or how she was the result of a spell. Do you know how much it's killed me to not tell you? I only wanted you Stefan... Valarie knew exactly what she was doing. The hunter might be after you and us vampires Stefan, but there's an entire coven of witches hunting down our daughter and the hunter will want us even more now we have Grace..."

"What? Caroline, you should be running!"

She shook her head "I'm done running. I've stayed hidden for an entire year. I refuse to be like _her_ and keep this from you. You've wanted children for nearly 180 years Stefan. She is the best thing that is ever going to happen to me and I will protect her with my entire life. But she needs more than me. She deserves to have both her parents in her life, I will not let Valarie, any hunter or heretic, ruin one of the most incredible things to ever happen to me" Caroline was crying now, she was trying not to but she couldn't help it the tears were in full flow.

Stefan took a deep breath "Ok." He nodded, Caroline's eyes shooting up to meet his. "We do it, together. We protect her and we make sure she comes to no harm." Caroline bit her lip crying a little more, he wiped her tears and kissed her cheek "We're strongest together…" he said and then started to laugh a little.

"Why are you laughing?"

"I think someone's a little confused" he told her looking at Grace who was frowning slightly, her eyes narrowing at Stefan as he bottom lip pouted out.

Caroline adjusted Grace in her lap, brushing her hand over her hair "Hey sleepy head…" Grace let out a little murmur before her hands moved to her eyes and then she stared back at Stefan. Caroline kissed her head "Look at her staring at you…"

Stefan reached forward his finger tracing down the side of Grace's cheek "Hi beautiful girl…" he looked up at Caroline, smiling like she'd never seen him smile before "She's the spitting image of you Caroline."

"So I've been told…would you like to hold her?" Stefan nodded "Meet you Daddy baby girl…" Caroline placed Grace in his arms, Grace paused for a couple of seconds, trying to decide if she wanted to cry or not. Stefan turned her to face Caroline and it seemed to calm her "Mamma's still here baby…"

"Thank you…" Stefan murmured, his hand gently squeezing Caroline's

"What for?"

"For coming back to me." He went to continue when the front door burst open with a loud crash, Grace began to cry as someone stepped through the door.

"Brother I'm home" he sang "Why is Wolf Boy sat on my porch?" His eyes found the source of the screaming and then saw Caroline. "What the hell is she doing here and more to the point what is that?"

 **Thank you so much for the reviews guys ! Hope you enjoy this chapter too... now the truth is out and we know a little more about what happened to get them where they are ! and Hello to Damon ! see ya soon x**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Stefan tried hopelessly to calm Grace but she wasn't settling, the interruption had startled her and she was now rather unhappy. "Hey…it's ok. Do you want Mamma?" Stefan asked her softly half expecting an answer. Grace continued to cry but shifted a little and reached out for Caroline who took her from Stefan's arms.

"Its ok baby girl…Come on shhh…" Caroline gently paced next to Stefan, patting Graces back to sooth her as she glared at Damon. "Grace…come on, it's ok"

"Are either of you going to fill me in on what the hell is going on here? Or am I going to have to use my crystal ball?" Damon asked he glanced over to Caroline "Can't you shut her up Blondie?"

"If you hadn't have burst through the door like some psychotic maniac she wouldn't be crying would she?"

"How was I supposed to know that you were going to be here, and for some bizarre reason, you have a baby!" he snapped "So I'll ask you again. What is going on?"

Stefan spoke up looking at Caroline for permission. She nodded quickly. "Caroline's back…"

"No Shit Sherlock"

"Caroline's back because she needs me and I need her and Grace needs both of us." Stefan said firmly "And like it or not its happening. They're here to stay" he said quickly glancing at Caroline and Grace, who was still sniffling.

Damon's eyes widened "The Kid's yours?" he asked surprised "HOW? It's not possible."

"It is." Caroline said "I know because I gave birth to her. She's mine and Stefan's. It's complex Damon."

"Really? I never would have known Blondie. Explain to me one thing, how is it that you, a vampire, ended up pregnant with my brother's child ; who is also a vampire?"

Stefan looked over at Carline to see her still struggling to settle Grace "Do we have to do this now? We'll talk later once Caroline has Grace settled?"

"Fine." Damon snapped "You might wanna go sort wolf boy out, he looks like he's about to have a mental wolf break down and that ain't going to be pretty."

Caroline sighed and moved back to Stefan "will you be ok with her for 5 minutes whilst I talk to Tyler? I can get Graces things from the car then too?"

Stefan nodded, taking a now calm Grace from her "We'll be fine." She smiled, quickly kissing Grace's cheek before leaving the house. Stefan sat down with Grace, she was pressing herself into his chest, her hand holding onto his shirt.

"Isn't this just a picture perfect moment" Damon scoffed pouring a glass of Bourbon. "Congratulations Daddy…"

"Don't call me that." Stefan frowned

"Why not? It's what you are isn't it?" he downed the alcohol and poured another glass.

"It's creepy when you say it, that's why!"

Damon shook his head "Do you know how unreal this is? You've got a kid Stefan…how I still…"

"Valarie." Stefan interrupted "Valarie is how. She syphoned Caroline" He told his brother. "Spelled her body with the gift to have children, but cursed it by giving us Grace. Valarie knew there was a high percentage that Caroline would die, and if she didn't, she knew any child Caroline had, would be wanted by all those who hunt the supernatural…"

"So she" he nodded down to Grace "Is cursed?"

"No, she's not cursed. Caroline can explain better than I can, but they're both in danger Damon. You should have seen them when they got here. Caroline was broken, I've never seen her like it…she looked so scared. They need protecting Damon and I won't turn my back on them. I finally have Caroline back and now we have Grace too…I won't do what our parents did to us. I won't turn my back on Grace or Caroline…"

Damon nodded, his brothers words hitting him "We'll protect them…" he noticed Stefan's surprised look "What? You really think I'm going to let some hunter or heretic mess with this family again. She's my niece and Blondie is…What exactly is Caroline?"

"That's a conversation we're yet to have." Stefan sighed "But we'll say Caroline is part of the family and leave it at that"

"Until you two get a second alone and the emotions kick in." Damon said pointedly, remembering several times he'd had the displeasure of walking in on the two of them. "You look happy brother…"

Stefan nodded "I am…I know there's still a hunter out there and Lilly's surrogate family are still in the wind causing havoc, but life just got a little better." Stefan saw Damon smiling at Grace "You can even melt the darkest of hearts Grace…"

"I hope that wasn't aimed at me" Damon said

"Who else is here?" Stefan smiled "Looks like Caroline, doesn't she?"

"So much. Elena would have loved her…" Damon voiced "We'll protect them Stefan." He confirmed, the two of them smiling as the heard Grace laugh. "Am I funny Grace?" she continued to giggle and started to fidget on Stefan's knee trying to turn herself towards the door more.

They turned to see Caroline and Tyler in the doorway, Caroline was grinning too as she played hide go seek behind her hands. "Mammas back…" Stefan said to his daughter as Caroline lifted her.

"Was she ok?"

"She was fine." Stefan told her. He looked at Tyler and held his hand out "Thank you for being there for them, for making sure they were ok" Tyler shook Stefan's hand with a single nod.

"Any time. I'm going to go…I'm going to go and see if Bonnie and Enzo have got any further with their…research" He gave Caroline a hug and then tickled Grace "bye Squide…"

Once Tyler had left, Caroline had explained things to Damon so he understood as well as she did and like he'd told Stefan, he vowed that they would all work together to make sure they stayed safe. It was beginning to get dark outside when the atmosphere began to get a little awkward. Damon had once again disappeared on business, although Stefan knew that usually meant he was heretic hunting, so they were alone again.

Caroline walked down the stairs after putting hers and Grace's things into one of the spare rooms. "Stefan?"

"Yeah?" he put down the book he was reading his eyes watching as she moved into the lounge.

"Could you heat up this please?" she handed him a bottle "a minute in a jug of boiling water should do it."

He took the bottle from her and examined its contents, frowning when his senses picked up on one specific scent "Is there blood in this?"

Caroline took a breath, following him into the kitchen with Grace perched on her hip "Erm…yeah. I mix it with her milk." She saw the shock on his face "I know she isn't like a normal baby Stefan, she ages the same for now but she has a lot of vampire traits."

"Like what?"

"Like a want and need for blood. When she was first born, she didn't feed she wouldn't drink anything until Matt jokingly suggested that she just wanted blood. So I didn't think it would hurt to try. I had I little blood and my finger, it was my own blood, I put it in her mouth and she stopped crying…so I started adding little drops to her formula and voila it worked. Shes much more like us then either of us know Stefan…"

 **Damon's on board with the whole situation... Stefan is utterly adorable with Grace...What next I wonder ? x**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Once Grace had been fed, she quickly fell to sleep in her mother's arms. Caroline managed to change her without waking her and settled her on the bed in the spare room, surrounded by cushions and covered in a blanket. Caroline watched her for a few seconds like she did every night, making sure she stayed asleep and thanking her lucky stars that she had been blessed with the gift of Grace. She kissed her forehead "Night baby girl, Mamma loves you".

"Caroline?" she turned to see Stefan stood in the doorway, obviously having been watching her.

"Hey." Caroline said softly. She went to stand from the bed but Stefan beat her too it and moved to stand next to her. "You ok?"

"I should be asking you that shouldn't I?" he smiled "you're the one who's had to go through all this for the last 12 months." He said softly "Can we talk?"

She nodded slightly, averting her gaze as she remembered the time he'd said those exact same words. The conversation was followed by her telling him she wasn't ready and then spewing a list of things how he'd changed her life. She definitely had a couple more things to add to that list now. The both stayed silent for a little while when Stefan spoke again.

"Why did you come back Caroline? I mean I know because of Grace but…why now? Why not 6months ago? Why not a month after you left?" he asked

"Well to start with I was heavily pregnant 6months ago, with this little madam" She said, running her hand over Graces head. "I couldn't really do much other then sit at home. But in all honesty I don't really know…I've wanted to come back from the second I left but, I needed to think about Grace. I've been seriously thinking about coming here since Grace was born and I knew where you were. I had a plan in motion and thought about it every day. It took me a while to recover after having Grace and to get used to being a mom…I guess you never really get used to it though." She looked at Grace "I was clearing out some of my old things the other day and I found some pictures of us. Of me and you and it made me realise what I was doing. I wasn't doing what was for the best. Tyler might not agree and neither would Matt but I want Grace to know you Stefan…I know I just turned up here with no warning and it was a really stupid thing to do bu…"

"But nothing" Stefan interrupted her, taking her hand in his "I'm glad you came back. When I broke up with you, it wasn't because I didn't love you, Caroline. It was for the exact opposite, I loved you too much to see you hurt. We had all these plans, things we were going to do, places we were going to see and I wanted that for you, even if it was without me. Sometimes loving someone is about letting them go" Caroline blinked at his words, she hadn't really thought about it that way.

"I was afraid to come back." Caroline looked down to the bed sheets "I thought that maybe, if you didn't want me, then you wouldn't want a baby and you certainly wouldn't want all the drama that came with the situation."

Stefan shook his head "I will always want you Caroline. Always" reaching up he tucked a small curl behind her ear "I shouldn't have let them come between us."

"No you shouldn't but I shouldn't have let you walk away. I was insecure, I'd had so many doubts in my mind and plus I couldn't comprehend what was actually happening. One day things were perfect, we were happy…" she smiled up at him "and then the next, everything fell apart. Losing you was like losing my world Stefan, you have no idea how much it hurt."

"You haven't lost me. I'm right here…I told you last year that I would wait for you, and I will Caroline. I'll always be waiting."

"What if I'm not worth the wait? What if Valarie was right? That what we have isn't ever going to compare to what you have with her." Caroline said weakly.

Stefan could feel the anger build inside him "You have to know that what she said isn't true. Yes she was my first love, but that was it…and yes she was having my child, but that's just it. I still wouldn't have wanted her Caroline."

"I understand if you would have done."

He shook his head "I didn't. When she told me she was pregnant, I felt sorry for her…I felt angry that I had the chance to be a father and it was taken away from me that was all, I didn't feel anything for her…" Stefan laughed almost bitterly "She nearly did it again though didn't she? She wanted you to suffer, and she wanted me to feel what she did."

"She was the one that told me I was pregnant." Caroline mumbled "It was about a month or two after Julian returned. You and I had gone to the Boarding house we were going to warn Lilly about the hunter"

"I remember…"

"We got there and realised that we weren't welcome, only whilst you were trying to negotiate a plan with you mom, Nora and Mary-Louise had a little chat with me in the library. It wasn't malicious at all, in fact I think they were actually being quite friendly…then Valarie turned up she used her magic and get them out of the room. Then she told me to listen, I didn't know what she was doing at first but then I heard it."

"You heard Grace's heartbeat?"

She nodded, a small smile on her lips "I thought she was making me hallucinate but she wasn't…she told me that I should look a little closer to home. She told me I was having your baby and she going to make me suffer…"

"I'm so sorry." Stefan claimed. "Why didn't I hear the heartbeat though or Damon or anyone else?"

"Some form of cloaking spell." Caroline told him "She made sure no one would know unless I told them. And that's when I left, I told you bonnie had called but I needed time to process everything. To understand what was happening. I went to the hospital compelled a doctor to give me an ultrasound and I saw her on the screen, I was three months pregnant."

"Why didn't I notice something was wrong?" Stefan said almost to himself

"I don't blame you Stefan. You were planning your escape, after what Lilly told you about the hunter, you knew you needed to do. Little did I know, that plan didn't include me." She shrugged "I came to tell you a couple of days later but you'd already decided you were going. So when you broke it off I didn't argue as much as probably would have done, after a few attempts I gave up"

"and now I know why." Stefan said, things beginning to make more sense, questions from 12 months ago beginning to get answered. "What happened next?"

"I told matt. I knew he was the only one who wasn't in danger from the hunter. I told him everything and we left. He agreed to help me…if it wasn't for him I don't think I'd be alive right now." She admitted. Matt had been an absolute god send, he'd found them the house in Texas, had covered their tracks with expert precision and had persuaded her to let him tell Tyler when the time had come. "Matt was the one who contacted Tyler. I'd been 'ill for a few weeks and Matt didn't know what else to do. I was vomiting blood and getting crazy visons…So with their help I got through it and had Grace."

Stefan reached over to her, tilting her chin up so she was looking at his face "I'm sorry you had to go through that and I'm sorry Valarie has done this to you, but most of all I'm sorry I left you."

"You didn't know…"

"But I still shouldn't have left you Caroline." His hands reached forward gently holding her face between his hands, their foreheads touching, eyes closing at the intensity of the moment. "Caroline…"

"Don't. let me just have this moment before something comes along and rips it away again and we go back into hiding."

Before she could comprehend what was happening, his lips were pressed against hers. It was the most amazing kiss, sweet yet passionate, so many emotions fitting into one action. "No more hiding Caroline, from now on it's us against the world. You, me and our baby girl."

 **So they've really talked things through now and seem to have an understanding where they stand!**

 **Some said that Valarie was spelt wrong, I know it is... believe me I've tried and tried to change it to spell it with an 'E' but my auto correct keeps changing it back :( sorry, I promise i'm trying to change it every time ! xx**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

It had been two days since Caroline had found Stefan, two days since she'd told him he was father, two days since they'd agreed they were in it together. Stefan had taken to fatherhood like a duck to water, he was a natural with Grace and absorbed every single moment he could with her.

After their conversation on the night she'd arrived, Caroline had no doubts that Stefan was going to be there for her and Grace, he'd been extremely protective of both of them since she's arrived but she couldn't say she didn't like it. In fact, it was a nice to feel protected, to feel like she wasn't on her own in it all.

Like the had done for the previous two nights the two of them were sat in the spare bedroom, getting Grace ready for bed. Thanks to Stefan, Grace now had a cot to sleep in, as well as a thousand other things that Caroline had insisted weren't necessary but Stefan had brought anyway. That evening, Caroline was leaning against the headboard of the bed, cradling Grace in her arms as she drank her bottle, Stefan sat next to them both.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to this…" Stefan said, Grace's eyes watching him closely.

Caroline smiled back nodding "It's taken me a while. Until I found I was pregnant with Grace, I'd never actually thought about having children. Now I can't imagine life without her. It's still really strange though, I mean I'm physically only 17 and was in college…now I'm a mom."

"And a fantastic one at that Caroline. You have no idea how at home you look with her." He said softly. Grace was now getting sleepy in Caroline's arms, she pushed her bottle away and wiped her eyes stretching towards Stefan "Come on then…" he held his arms out to her hoping she'd move towards him. Caroline had been telling him that Grace was beginning to crawl so she was trying to encourage her.

"Grace, what's Daddy got?" Caroline said softly, placing Grace on all fours on the bed. Stefan was holding a smaller version of a teddy bear that looked suspiciously like Miss Cuddles. "What is it, is it bear?" Grace smiled and made a few attempts to take a few paces forward as she patted her hands against the bed.

After a couple of seconds she managed to move herself towards Stefan, he watched with pride as she reached him and took the bear from him. "You're so clever Grace…" He lifted her and held her against him.

"And she's tired…" Caroline said watching Graces eyes drift shut.

"Tell me about her" Stefan said softly "Tell me all I've missed out on, when she was born what her favourite things are, what she doesn't like."

Caroline nodded "How about I show you?" she held her hand out to Stefan who took it in his own, they closed their eyes transported into one of Caroline's first memories of Grace.

 _"_ _Matt!" her voice echoed around the house. "This isn't happening right now…" She took several deep breaths "MATTTT!"_

 _"_ _I'm here what's up?" he stepped into the bedroom looking at Caroline's position and her pained face._

 _"_ _I think the baby's coming" she said pushing a breath through her lips_

 _"_ _Oh Holy…OK ok."_

 _"_ _You need to call Tyler tell him to meet us at the hospital. He know what to do." She reeled off a list of things that matt needed to do. "We need to go now matt."_

Stefan took a breath as he saw Caroline in so much pain, clearly scared and not knowing what to do. He focused and was taken back to the memory, but he seemed to have missed something. This time he could see Caroline laying in a hospital bed, clearly unconscious.

 _Her eyes shot open. Tyler stood up from the chair and moved over to her "Where am I?"_

 _"_ _You're in hospital care…" he said softly_

 _"_ _What happened?" she frowned slightly and then tried to move "The baby…what's happened? Where's the baby? Is it ok?"_

 _Tyler nodded "The baby's ok. It's you we're worried about. You've been out for nearly a week." Her eyes widened "You're ok… something to do with the spell. We thought you were gone Care…"_

 _"_ _I'm hungry…" she said, licking her lips. "I feel weak…"_

 _"_ _Yeah I thought you might. Here…" he took a cup from the side table "It's blood." Caroline quickly drank the entire cup, colour flooding back to her cheeks as she finished it. "better?"_

 _"_ _I will be. I want my baby, Ty…" she said firmly._

 _"_ _Wait until you meet her Caroline, she's amazing." He said "Matt's just outside with her"_

 _"_ _A Girl? I have a daughter?"_

 _Tyler nodded "let me go and get her…"_

 _A couple of seconds later Caroline was more than aware of the crying as Matt stepped through the door holding her baby. He moved over to Caroline, kissing her cheek and placing the baby in her arms "Congratulations, Mamma."_

 _Caroline jostled her arms slightly "Hi babygirl…" the crying stopped a little "I'm your Mamma…I am. And I promise I will never let anything ever happen to you."_

The memory faded out, both Stefan and Caroline opening their eyes. "I'm sorry it was a little sketchy…" Caroline said "I don't really remember much from her birth only what I was told after."

He squeezed her hand more "Do you have more?"

"Yes." She nodded

"Can I see them?" Stefan asked "I mean if you don't mind me seeing them…"

"Of course I don't mind, it's just…I don't want to upset you with them. I mean it was my fault you aren't in these memories…" Caroline said softly

"Stop blaming yourself. They won't upset me Caroline, I want to see these things…there's going to be plenty of memories to come with all three of us right?" Caroline nodded "Then I'd like to see the memories leading up to those new ones…"

Closing her eyes again, Caroline squeezed Stefan's hand. This time it wasn't a specific memory though, it was almost like a slid show of all the different moments Caroline had experienced with Grace. He saw Grace's first smile, heard her first little giggle, he saw her change and grow, but with the happy there was a little sad. He saw the nights that Caroline cried herself to sleep, the nights where Grace cried relentlessly.

"That's all I have…" Caroline told him, her eyes opening. "I can tell you the rest…" Stefan nodded "Well she was born on February 15th, day after valentines so she's just gone 6 months. Her full name is Grace Elizabeth Salvatore."

"You gave her my last name?" Stefan asked, surprised that she'd done that.

"You are her Dad, I am a traditionalist at heart." She smiled "Her first word was Mamma, although she'll pretty much make a noise at anything." Caroline laughed "She loves her bear, Matt got her it when she was born; she will literally have a fit if anything happens to it. She still has her bottle but obviously I do feed her a little blood too, it keeps her settled and she actually really likes it. We've just started to try her with some solid foods, so far she will eat sweet potato, mushed up and banana, she doesn't like anything remotely savoury tasting, she definitely has a sweet tooth."

"I wonder where she gets that from" Stefan teased

"Hey, you always like dessert too" she pointed out, blushing a little when she saw Stefan's eyebrows raise "Oh you know what I mean. Anyway, that's about it really…oh she loves bath time. She would happily sit in a warm bath for hours as long as she could see me."

"We have one good kid huh?" Stefan stood up "Why don't you go downstairs, or take a bath and relax a bit Caroline? I'll tuck Grace in and sit with her a while."

She softly smiled and moved on the bed, watching Stefan put Grace to bed. "I'd be happier here…"

Stefan moved to sit next to her again and smiled "And are you happy? Are you happy here with me?"

"More than you'll ever know."

Stefan leaned forward kissing her lips deeply, his hand caressing the back of her head, they became lost in the kiss, every feeling that had been hidden deep within them rushing back at a thousand miles an hour. Caroline pulled back gasping a little. Stefan stared at her "Please tell me I didn't misread the signs?"

"no, no you didn't. It's just been a long time and things seem to be coming together so easily."

"I know…we can still take it slowly though" He told her tucking her hair behind her ear. "Why don't you take that bath?"

It didn't take much persuasion for her to agree, five minutes later Stefan heard the tub being filled up and Caroline's soft humming coming from the bathroom. He sat on the floor next to Grace's cot, reaching out and brushing her blonde hair from her face. She looked so peaceful. He held her little hand for a few seconds, but quickly retracted it like her skin had burnt him. He blinked trying to get rid of the vision he'd just seen.

Taking his phone from his pocket he dialled a familiar number

"Stefan?" her voice sounded after a few rings

"Bonnie, what do you know about vampires having children and then the child being able to show visions?"

He heard her laugh and then stop "oh you're not joking…honestly I don't know, why?"

"How quickly can you get here?"

 **This has got to be one of my favourite chapters :) hope you enjoyed too ! x**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

It seemed to take Bonnie an age to get to Stefan's when in fact it was only ten minutes. Stefan was waiting on tenterhooks as Bonnie arrived. He opened the door waiting for her and Enzo to approach.

"What's he doing here?" Stefan almost growled as he glared at the British male.

Bonnie put her hand on her hips "Really? No 'Thank you for coming here Bonnie, when you were really busy'" She said sarcastically

"Thank you for coming. Now tell me why he's here"

Rolling her eyes she shook her head "Enzo is here because he was with me when you called and pretty much demanded my presence. He's here because despite what you think, he's on our side."

Stefan sighed "Whatever." He looked at Enzo "One word or move I don't like and I won't hesitate to throw you out of here, Clear?"

"Oh, crystal" Enzo smirked following Bonnie into the house, having previously been invited in by Damon. "What was so urgent that you summoned my lovely girlfriend over here mumbling something about a vampire baby?" Bonnie turned to face Stefan too, her eyes asking the same question as Enzo had just voice.

They remained silent, the three of them not wanting to talk but needing to at the same time. "Right come on we're going." Bonnie said taking Enzo's and pulling him towards the door, mentally counting the seconds it would take Stefan to speak up. 5…4…3…2…

"Caroline's back" he said irritated that Bonnie had gotten it out of him.

Bonnie smirked to herself and turned on the spot to face him "What do you mean she's back? Like she's here back or…?"

"Yes, she's here upstairs." He said "That not all…"

Bonnie seemed to process things very quickly in her head, she gasped and looked at Stefan who nodded. "Oh my God."

"Am I missing something here?" Enzo interrupted, not having put the pieces together yet.

"If I'm not wrong. Caroline's had a baby…" she looked at Stefan "I'm right aren't I?"

"Yeah…she's had a baby girl. She's six months old." He informed them, conveniently leaving out the detail that Grace was his.

It seemed Bonnie was on fire that evening though as she again shook her head and closed her eyes "Caroline didn't just have any baby…she had your baby" she stated. "which is why you need me…God Stefan, is she ok?"

"Who Caroline? Or the baby?" he asked

"Both…I guess."

"Well Caroline is upstairs, having a bath and Grace, our daughter is upstairs sleeping."

It was Enzo who asked the question both he and Bonnie wanted answering to "Is it just me or is all of this a little far-fetched? For a starting point, vampires can't have children. Secondly am I really supposed to believe that Blondie comes running back here with baby and all after you threw the towel in? I mean we all knew she had a thing for you but…"

"Enough Enzo alright?" Stefan proclaimed "Caroline and I have a whole lot of history and trust me there's a lot of it but all we want is to protect our daughter and for that we need Bonnies help."

"Why? Why do you want my girlfriend to risk our location, our lives all to protect you?"

"Not me, Grace." Stefan said.

"Stefan?" They all turned towards the stairs where her voice had come from "Do you have any more towels? I can only find one and my hair's dripping" no one answered and the silence gave her the chance to listen harder. She stepped on to the top step "who's down there Stefan? And don't you dare lie to me, I can hear two extra heartbeats at least." She took a step further down "Stefan are you ok? I'm not going to come down and find you staked am I? Because it's been a long time since I removed splinters"

"I'm ok everything's fine." He called back "Why don't you carry on getting changed or whatever and come down when you're done, towels are in the cabinet on the left in the bathroom."

"I've looked there's none there…"

Stefan couldn't help but smile at her frustration "Try my room…"

"Already looked there…" her voice was getting nearer. "I've got an idea, why don't you ask Bonnie to do a locator spell on them whilst she's here?"

Stefan winced and Enzo laughed "Still as sharp as ever…"

"It's ok, I know Enzo's there too" She said as she heard Stefan shush him. "As soon as I find another towel I'll be down…"

"I better go and find a towel before she does something one of us will regret and it'll likely be me." Stefan sighed vamping up the stairs. He found Caroline stood with her arms folded. "I can explain…" he moved around a couple of the upstairs rooms, finally handing her a clean towel.

"By all means go ahead…" She said moving into the spare room and collecting some of her things without waking Grace. She walked back into the bathroom and began to redress, turning her back to him and dropping the towel completely un-phased that she was naked in front of him. Stefan stood mouth open in the doorway "What?" she suddenly seemed to realise her mistake "oh…" she quickly pulled her underwear on quickly followed by a pair of shorts and a shirt. "I'm still waiting on that explanation…" she swung her head forwards and began drying it with a towel.

It took a couple of seconds for him to compose himself, seeing Caroline in that way had really affected him and there wasn't much he could do about it right now "I don't want you to flip out on one…"

"Yet you still aren't telling me why Bonnie and Enzo are downstairs, which makes me think whatever it is you're going to tell me will make me 'flip' as you so lovingly say."

"OK. Ok. Whilst you were in the bath earlier, I was sat with Grace, holding her hand as she slept. I saw something Caroline, like a vison, it was like she was trying to show me something."

Caroline paused, quickly looking at Stefan "You saw?"

"Yes…have you seen them too?"

"They've been different each time and really small but yes, I thought I was the only one who could see them, Tyler and Matt have never experienced them. Do you think we need to be worried?"

Stefan stepped forward, placing his arm over her shoulder and pulling her towards him "I don't know. Which is why I asked Bonnie for help, I don't know if she knows anything that could help us understand what's going on but it's worth a try isn't it?" Caroline nodded "Ok, well lets go down and see what she says" he kissed her forehead, pulling on her hand slightly as he moved from the room.

Caroline tugged him back though "Hey Stefan…"

"yeah?"

"Can I ask you something?" she said softly, he nodded frowning a little at her sudden insecurity. "What are we? I mean where do we stand?" Stefan realised what she was saying and smiled a little. "Are we just friends raising a child together or are we more?"

His arms came to rest around her waist, locking against her back "firstly, we're more than friends…you're my best friend, always will be and you'll also be a lot more, always. We're never just going to be friends Caroline, we have the most beautiful baby girl together and you told me earlier that you were happy here, and I hoped that meant you were happy with me."

"So, we're together?"

"if you want to label it then yes, we're together." The smallest of smiles pulled at Caroline's lips as she kissed Stefan "We should go down now ok?"

"Let's get it over with…"

They walked down the stairs hand in hand, Caroline's breath catching as she saw her best friend. "Bon…"

"Caroline…" the two girls embraced as the boys watched on. "Why are things always so complicated with you?" She chuckled

"I ask myself the same question everyday…" Carline sighed "Has Stefan told you?"

"That the two of you magically birthed a child?" Enzo questioned "Yep…although we're still none the wiser how."

They spent the next hour explaining everything to the two of them, including Graces visions.

"So can you shed any light on this?" Stefan asked, holding Carolines hand tightly in his own.

Nervously Bonnie nodded "Yeah, I've heard of a couple of cases, Grams used to tell me about vampire's having children, and how that it almost never happened."

"But it has happened before…I know that much, some witch's in New Orleans told Tyler."

Bonnie nodded "yes it can happen, but only when magic is involved. I take it you were syphoned Care?" Caroline nodded "A syphoners magic is strong and extremely powerful, assuming this was a spell cast by a heretic…" Caroline nodded again "Then the spell would have been something I can only dream of knowing how to do. I don't know much about the children of these spells, but it seems that as her parents, Grace connects with you, she can show you things like you can with skin on skin contact."

"So these visions are our future?"

"They could be, they might not be anything…but if they feel real, it's most likely they are. It's also possible that Grace has magic in her blood, because of the spell."

Caroline's head fell into her hands "This just keeps getting better. So not only are we on the run from a vampire hunter, who will now probably know about Grace, but our daughter is able to give us visions and she may or may not be magic?"

"Yep, sounds about right" Bonnie said.

"Great! Now that's cleared up, we'll be off" Enzo said "Ta-ra"

"Not so fast Lorenzo!" Caroline said, vamping in front of him

Enzo paused "I always did love it when you used my full name gorgeous …" he said, his British accent only adding to the effect.

Before he could see it coming, Caroline's hand had connected with his face "That's for kidnaping me and using me as heretic bait." Seconds later she slapped him again "and that's for not choosing our side in the first place." She turned to Stefan "I'm going to check on Grace…"

Bonnie placed her hand on Caroline's shoulder as she passed her "Caroline, I'll try and see what I can do to protect you all. We had a pact when we were little remember? I'll never break that pact…"

 **OH oh ! There seems to be trouble brewing ...big trouble. Bonnie's vowed to help Caroline and Stefan protect Grace but will it be enough? x**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

It had been almost a month since Caroline had turned up on Stefan's doorstep with Grace, and things couldn't be more different to when she first arrived. Caroline and Stefan were more loved up than ever, Grace only strengthening that bond that they previously shared, not that it had ever gone away of course. They were still working at their relationship though, Stefan was learning he needed to be more open with his girlfriend and Caroline was learning she needed to be more trusting, Stefan was the only one she fully trusted with Grace though, even after such a short amount of time together, she could see just how much Stefan loved their daughter and she knew the extent he'd go to in order to protect Grace.

The two of them were sleeping in bed, his front curled against her back, their favourite position to be in. Caroline groaned as she heard Graces murmurs from the next room.

"She'll stop in a minute" Stefan said gruffly, obviously having been woken by Grace's cries too.

"It's 5am. Why won't she sleep?" She snuggled closer to Stefan, turning slightly so she was lying against his chest.

He chuckled slightly "Maybe she's hungry or something?" It took another minute of continual crying when Stefan sighed, the two adults both wide awake "I'll go and get her…" he said slipping out of the bed, pulling on a pair of Joggers as he went. On reaching the spare room that was now Graces, he saw a teary eyes little Grace standing in her cot holding onto the bars, crying and sniffing. Walking into the room he lifted Grace into his arms as she reached for him "Hey baby girl…What's all this fuss for?" As soon as she was in his arms, Grace had calmed down but was still crying and dribbling. Stefan picked up her bear from the cot and held her tightly "Lets go and see Mamma shall we?"

"Mamma…" Grace mumbled around her thumb that was currently in her mouth.

"That's right baby girl…" Caroline was sat up in the bed as Stefan re-entered with Grace "We have company…" Stefan said and Caroline rolled her eyes "I think she's teething" He admitted, climbing into the bed again, settling Grace between himself and Caroline. "She's got rosy cheeks and is dribbling like no one's business."

Caroline smiled softly "oh no, we'll get you some medicine in the morning Gracie" She kissed her forehead "You think you can sleep if you stay with Mamma and Daddy?"

"Caroline, she can't understand you" Stefan Laughed

"We have an understanding don't we Grace?" Caroline fussed, running her fingers through Graces hair only to be pushed away by the little girl who curled into her father.

"You just got told." Stefan chuckled "We should get some more sleep, we have a busy day tomorrow." Moving to lay against the other side of Stefan, Caroline lay her cheek on his chest, watching as Grace lay on the other side, drifting to sleep again. "You're over thinking again" he mumbled into her hair.

"I can't help it." She replied. It was typical Caroline to over think the smallest of things, she would think about every possibility good and bad, exhaust every outcome that could possibly be, yet she'd never make any conclusion, always letting the options swish round in her head like little butterflies.

"You always were an over thinker. Talk to me, tell me what your worried about" he said, looping his free arm over her shoulders and round her back. "If you don't tell me I can't help can I?"

"I'm worried about what Bonnie and Enzo will have found." She sighed. Bonnie and Enzo had been on a witch hunt- literally. After some digging and some extremely risky sneaking on Enzo's behalf, they were able to locate a witch in a hidden coven in Arkansas who had apparently seen the birth of a vampire child before. The two were due back in New York the following day, with news for Stefan and Caroline about Grace, they had refused to 'spill the details' over the phone as Enzo had politely said and of course Caroline's mind was in overdrive.

"I know you think it's bad news but you don't know that, and think about it, if Bonnie thought you or Grace was in immediate danger then she would have said wouldn't she? I don't pretend to know how deep we're in Caroline, but I do know that we have a network of people around us who are doing everything in they can to protect us."

"I know…"

"I haven't seen Damon this protective since Lilly took Elena's coffin. He loves our baby as much as we do. He spent all of yesterday morning sat on the lounge floor with a box of bricks playing with her."

A huge smile filled Caroline's face "This is the same Damon who ripped a heretic's heart out, brought one back from the dead and lead another into a false sense of happiness to drag it all away?"

"The one and the same. He loves her and even though he never says it or shows it, he loves you too Caroline, believe it or not, you are the closest thing of Elena's he has."

"I never thought about it like that, he's just always…hostile with me, that or sarcastic." She mumbled, trying to stifle a yawn.

"That's Damon's way of saying he likes you…" Stefan said "Tomorrow, when Bonnie and Enzo tell us that they've found out all of this is just one big dream and everything will be ok; we'll be able to move on with our lives. We'll be able to do things a proper family does, whatever that is…"

"Hmmm, you're forgetting that we still have a vampire hunter on our backs." She said sleepily, Stefan saw her eyes begin to close and within seconds she was asleep.

He kissed her forehead "I love you Caroline Forbes."

For the second time since they went to bed, Stefan woke up to a noise from Grace, this time it was her cute little laugh. He opened his eyes to see Damon standing at the side of the bed, making funny faces at Grace "Morning Brother" he smirked.

"I better be dreaming and you're not in here Damon" He heard Caroline groan.

Damon looked down at himself and widened his eyes "Would you look at that, I'm really here!"

"What do you want Damon?" Stefan asked pulling the covers further around himself and Caroline.

"As much as I'd love to let you two do whatever it is you do all day, but you have visitors…two of them one in the form if a witch the other in the form of my ex-best friend. So if you could make yourself presentable that would be greatly appreciated" he clapped his hands together, Grace trying to copy him. "And while you do that, I'll go spend some time with Mini blondie" he lifted Grace in the air with a smile, making her laugh, and left the room.

"Her name is Grace, Damon. Would it kill you to use it?" Caroline yelled back.

"I won't take the risk to find out" he replied

Down in the lounge, Bonnie and Enzo were waiting patiently when Damon came down holding Grace.

"Looks like Uncle Damon has been put under her spell" Enzo chimed, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

"Very funny. Hey Gracie, you remember your Aunt Bonnie don't you?" Grace just smile at him "Bonnie, you wanna hold?"

"Of course…" Grace was soon in her arms giggling away when bonnie made the paper on the coffee table float about. "She loves it…"

"It's in her blood…" Enzo whispered to which Bonnie frowned.

"What did you say?" Caroline's voice echoed on the stairs.

"Oh oh" was Graces appropriate response, however it wasn't aimed at the situation, but at the paper falling as Bonnie had lost concentration.

"Enzo..." Stefan warned as he held Caroline back slightly, her vampirism. "I'd start talking or it'll be Caroline you'll be answering to, and for once I think you'd rather deal with me. So start talking!"

Enzo looked towards Caroline, seeing the veins starting to appear under her eyes "alright gorgeous, calm down." He titled his head toward Bonnie and she nodded, moving near Caroline and Passing Grace back to her. Enzo saw her relax once Grace was back in her arms. "It's like seeing a lioness with her cub…"

"Yeah and like a lioness I won't think twice about ripping your head off. So either you or Bonnie better start talking and tell me that there's no solution to all this…"

Bonnie smiled "Care, Grace is going to be ok. If anything she's the most protected out of all of us. The witch in Arkansas, the reason she knew about this was because she and her husband had a baby too, and they're both vampires, only she's a witch too."

"So she's a heretic?"

"Not exactly" Bonnie shook her head "But it's irrelevant. Their child is like Grace, she can communicate by touch, through visions."

"Sounds all very twilight to me" Damon scoffed

"You're not far off actually. The spell that Valarie used…was dark. It was meant to harm and in all honesty Care, it was probably meant to kill you…but thanks to Matt and Tyler and the fact you were been given blood, you survived it. Yes Grace might be a target in the future, but she isn't any different to you or Stefan."

"So she's ok?" Stefan asked

Bonnie nodded "yeah, she'll stop aging when she reaches the age that you and Caroline turned, which is 17, she has vampire blood in her body- she is literally a baby vampire. The only difference is that she probably has a little magic in her blood"

"A little? How much is a little?" Caroline frowned

"Like she won't be able to do spells or anything unless she learns to syphon power from herself" Caroline and Stefan glared at Bonnie "But that's not important. It'll just maybe protect her a little more. Honestly you don't need to worry about it. Grace will be ok and for now, she'd just like any other baby." Caroline smiled turning into Stefan as her drew her close. "We better be off, apparently there's a vampire hunter out there still" she laughed.

"Thank you Bonnie."

"You're welcome."

Bonnie and Enzo left the house, Bonnie sighing deeply "Thank god that's over"

"You think it's over? Bonnie Love, you just lied to them about their daughter, if anything…this is only just beginning."

Bonnie shook her head "Not if I finish it first."

 **What the hell has Bonnie just done? Back soon !**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

The butterflies returned to her stomach as she smiled gently up at him, the two of them sat side by side on the Sofa "Damon has very kindly offered to look after Grace this afternoon, so we have the house to ourselves." Stefan told her, beginning to kiss along her jaw.

"Really? You're happy for your brother to be corrupting our daughter?" Caroline asked, groaning as Stefan continued kissing along her jaw and the edge of her mouth.

"I'm happy for him to look after her for the afternoon so we can get some time together." He kissed her cheek and then her lips and then her cheek again "we haven't been together properly since you came back…"

They edged closer together, Caroline rising onto her knees and shuffling so she was hovering above him. "Hmm, your very tempting Mr Salvatore" She said looping her arms around his neck. "But…we don't know if the spell is still on me" she said her face saddening slightly.

Stefan's heart dropped as she said that, he knew it was a possibility, one he didn't want to think about. He could see that things scared her, he just hoped that one of those things she was scared of, wasn't being with him. His hand lifted up and cupped her face, his thumb brushing across her cheek as he looked into her eyes. "I know we don't, but are we going to spend the rest of our lives not being with each other because we're worried about some spell? Or are you scared of being with me, just me?"

She dipped her head briefly and then connected their eyes again "Not anymore I'm not… maybe when I first came back, I was scared of getting to involved, but we both know that was never going to happen. I think we have too much history for things to ever be platonic between us." she told him honestly, shifting her feet from under her so they curled to her side and she could move closer to him. "After we kissed again, I knew how much I loved you and being with you didn't scare me, but losing you does. I'm worried that if I'm still spelled, I could end up pregnant again…"

"Would that be a bad thing?" Stefan asked softly

She shook her head and smiled "No. But me dying having another baby would be, I don't want to leave you or Grace. I want to be there for her. That's what im worried about…"

His other hand reached for her face, and he drew her closer, noses brushing as he rested his forehead against hers." I would never let that happen to you Caroline. I'd die myself before I let anything happen to you or Grace. But we can't stop being a couple because of it, it's exactly what she wanted then isn't it?"

She breathed her eyes closing "Maybe she should win this one…"

He kissed her lips "Never" kiss, "going" kiss, "to" kiss, "Happen. She will not win Caroline. I want to be with you Caroline, and the fear shouldn't stop us, if you are still spelled and do end up pregnant again, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it ok?"

"OK…" She told him. Stefan used the moment to his advantage and lowered his lips to hers again, this time the sparks igniting between them as he moved her back so she was lying flat on the sofa. She responded to the kiss, her lips moving in sync with his. "Stefan…"

By the time she could fully collect her thoughts, they were already wearing significantly less and she realised they were now in their bedroom. His hands felt like fire as they traced her body, slowly moving up her legs and across her stomach to lift the vest top off. She felt her body sinking into the mattress as he undressed her, he left a tingle everywhere he touched that made her feel slightly dizzy.

He kissed her deeply, his hands holding her hips against his but in one powerful movement, Caroline was repelled across the room, hitting the door with some force and sinking to the floor. They both stared wide eyed at each other unable to speak.

"What the hell just happened?" he asked moving across the room to help her stand, only as he got closer, he couldn't move, it was like there was an invisible brick wall between them, stopping them from getting closer. Lifting his hand Stefan reached for Caroline but was shot back just like she had been "I can't touch you…"

"Me neither…it's like there's a barrier between us."

Stefan's eyes shut tightly and he let out a low growl "Valerie."

"Going somewhere?" Valerie stood static on the porch of the house, locking the door as she looked at the visitor.

"Ah, Enzo…come to see Lilly have we?"

"Not today" He pushed himself away from the column he was leaning against and stepped a little closer to Valerie "I've come to talk to you actually. I have a little problem you see, and was hoping for your skilful expertise" Valerie smiled, her head tilting slightly as she tried to figure out if he was being genuine.

"And what may your problem be? And more to the point why do you think I can or would even want to help you?" she questioned.

"The thing is, my girlfriend and I have hit a little rocky patch…shall we say? And I'm running out of options on how I can make it up to her, so I though what better way to make it up to her than to get to the root of the problem?" he smirked

"And that root would be?"

"A very good question" he said "That root would be you" he raised his eyebrows as Valerie's face fell and Bonnie appeared behind Enzo, her hands raised ready to begin a spell. She swallowed deeply and went to raise her hands too, but Enzo shook his finger. "I wouldn't do that if I was you Love, my girlfriend is pretty pissed off with you and given that we've been on a very magical trip recently, I wouldn't mess with her."

"My family are in there…" Valerie said

"Who Lilly and the little followers?" Enzo asked "afraid not love, we both know they've all gone and left poor little Valerie on her own. Funny how history repeats itself isn't it?" He laughed and within a second sent two wooden spokes flying through the air, one pinning each of Valerie's hands to the wooden cladding on the house. He turned to Bonnie "She's all yours."

She quickly kissed his cheek in thanks and moved her hands up slightly, Valerie's body crippling in pain.

"Please stop…" she cried out which only angered Bonnie more.

"Once you remove the spells you've put on my best friend and her baby…then I'll stop."

A glimmer of a smirk moved onto Valerie's face as Bonnie briefly stopped the spell. "You really think it's that simple? Don't be so naïve. Caroline's body isn't spelled anymore…at least not with the procreation. That spell died when she had her child. It's the child who's at risk now…"

"We know. But we also know, that you're the only who can stop it…" Enzo said "So I'd get syphoning"

Bonnie raised her hand again "Remove the magic from her blood, or I'll remove it from yours…" She shrugged "Your choice."

Valerie laughed "That won't work…"

"Or I could kill you. Then every compulsion, every spell will be undone…but then you wouldn't be able to save your family would you?"

"Save my family?" She questioned

"Oh did we forget to mention that they're about to walk straight into the path of the vampire hunter you've all been running from for the last year." Enzo added, he was getting more pleasure from this then he thought.

"You can't drain my magic and undo my spells…"

Bonnie titled her head and then looked thoughtful for a second "Hmm, no I can…"

"It's dark magic." Valerie said, sucking in an intake of breath.

"Yeah, me and dark magic are kind of friends right now…a little thing called the Phoenix stone introduced us. So…what's it going to be?"

Valerie didn't answer so Bonnie began to chant the spell she'd learnt, the wooden spokes igniting and dropping Valerie to the floor. Another chant closely followed and Valerie began to scream in pain.

Enzo was stood waiting to defend if anyone were to suddenly turn up. The sound of his phone ringing distracted him and he wasn't too impressed when he saw who was calling.

"And to what do I owe this great pleasure Salvatore?" he answered immediately, but grimaced when the next voice went through the phone. "Ah Caroline, it's you…"

"Where's Bonnie?"

He looked behind him seeing Valerie and Bonnie in what he could only describe as a battle of spells, it seemed his girlfriend was winning though. "Bonnies a little busy right now…"

"Well tell her this is important."

"Can't it wait? We're currently killing a heretic's magic…"

"No it can't wait. And if Bonnie is taking Valerie's magic, she needs to stop now." Caroline said firmly "Stefan and I can't touch, some kind of barrier spell, but Damon's just got back with Grace…Bonnie taking Valerie's magic is taking Grace's too…"

 **Things are just going from bad to worse aren't they? back on Monday :) have a great weekend peoples !**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Bonnie and Enzo were back at the house within the hour, Valerie temporarily forgotten about. Bonnie was the first in the house, moving over to Caroline who was sat with Grace in her arms. "Is she ok? Did I hurt her?"

"No, thankfully she's ok." Caroline said "You need to tell us what's going on Bonnie, and don't think about lying. You're my best friend and my daughter's life is in danger."

"You better sit down then…" Bonnie said. He hadn't wanted to tell Caroline, but now it seemed she had no choice in the matter, as things were progressing more than she thought they ever would.

"Talk Bonnie" Stefan said joining Caroline on the sofa.

"OK…" She took a deep breath "Grace has magic in her blood. When you gave birth, the spell Valerie put on you, transferred into Grace. You don't have that spell on you anymore. But Grace, she has magic Caroline…she has Valerie's magic, they're joined…I'm so sorry."

"What do you mean? Joined?" Stefan questioned. He held Caroline's hand tightly in his own, panic going through him.

"Well it's not rocket science" Enzo started "They're connected by magic. Valerie's spell transferred from you to Grace, connecting them. Valerie's magic dies whilst she's connected to Grace and she dies…"

"I swear Caroline, I didn't realise that this is how they were connected." Bonnie confessed "all I knew is that to get rid of Grace's magic and help her we needed to get Valerie to withdraw her spell…"

"And let me guess, the bitch said no?" Damon proclaimed, Bonnie nodding. "I'm going to rip her heart out!"

"You can't Damon." Bonnie said, stepping in front of him "She dies, so does Grace, she has to be the one to withdraw the spell."

"Then I'll torture it out of her." He said, walking to the kitchen and reaching into the cupboard, coming back with a large container.

Caroline frowned as he rummaged around the kitchen and found a couple of syringes. "Do you really think you're going to torture her with vervain?"

"Not just vervain Blondie…Wooden bullets too." He smirked reaching for a gun under the sink.

"Am I living in a weapon production facility?" Caroline asked, shaking her head as Damon supplied himself with an array of different weapons.

"Nope. Just a storage facility. Listen Blondie, you might not like this but she will remove this spell and mini Blondie will be ok. So unless you can think of any better ways to save your daughter within the next few hours, then please, enlighten us…"

She shuffled Grace in her arms and stood up "Don't speak to me like that Damon…No I don't have any other ideas, but I don't agree with yours either not when Valerie could die in the process and kill Grace too…"

"She has a point Damon…" Stefan said joining his girlfriend

"Oh he does speak. I thought I was going to have to do this on my own." Damon told him "You love them and I know you do, you'll do anything to protect them? Then we're going now.

"Stefan don't…"

He turned to Caroline and stepped as close to her as he could without being repelled across the room. He sighed when he was as close as he could be "I'll make sure she removes the spell before she dies…" he told her "But she will die, she will not hurt our family anymore."

Caroline nodded despite the feeling in her stomach telling her it was a bad idea "Just, come back to us Stefan, please?"

"Always. And in the meantime maybe Bonnie can remove that repellent spell, so when I get home we can continue what we started…" he said a slight smirk on his face.

Damon coughed from behind them "Firstly, I'll just remind you that I also live in this house and have vampire hearing. Secondly you have a daughter who does not need to see anything you two do and who has probably inherited vamp hearing…Thirdly we got to go."

"Stay Safe" Caroline said quickly "Both of you…" she stood cradling Grace as she watched the man she loved, leave to fight a battle she knew was going to be somewhat difficult. She kissed Graces forehead and placed her on the floor by a box of toys, placing a few cushions around her. "Bonnie?" her friend looked at her "Remove this freaking repellent spell…"

"I can try. Enzo my spell book from the car please…"

Enzo mock saluted and vamped to the car speeding back with the book "As requested gorgeous…I'm going to go and see if our little heretic trap has worked" he kissed Bonnie and nodded to Caroline "Later Goldilocks."

Bonnie sat on the floor with her spell book open on the table, Caroline pacing "It's in here somewhere…Caroline will you stop pacing, you'll wear the darn carpet out. Ha got ya!" she smiled holding her hand out to Caroline, it was a couple of seconds later and a mumbled spell and Bonnie smiled "Done"

"Are you sure? I don't want my boyfriend to be thrown across the room when I try and hold his hand later."

"I'm sure…"

"You know it still amazes me all these years later that nothing Witchy happens" She laughed, repeating her words from when Bonnie had made the daylight ring for her.

"Hey watch it or I'll turn your skin to vervain" she teased

"Oh please…been there done that, t shirt was too expensive though" The two girls laughed and then hugged "Oh i've missed this…"

"Me too Care, why don't we go out? Take Grace for a walk clear your head?"

"Is it safe?" Caroline asked, surprised that Bonnie had suggested it.

"With me and you together, a witch and a vampire…we'll fine. And come on we're in New York we need to explore!"

 **OH dear, they all know the truth now ! Will Damon and Stefan be ok? and how cute are Bonnie and Enzo in this too ? back soon ! x**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Stefan and Damon walked back into the house, throwing their things down on the table as Damon poured them both a rather large glass of bourbon. He handed a glass to Stefan who downed the contents in one and slammed the glass back on the table.

"Easy brother…" Damon said "It's sorted."

"Sorted is the last thing this is Damon. We've probably just made things a thousand times worse." Stefan confessed

"Look the way I see it, Valerie has removed her connection with Mini Blondie…Job done." He shrugged

"Not job done, she may have removed Grace's connection spell, but she's just made a deal with the hunter Damon…We have to leave."

"We better get packing then…" Damon smirked.

"Are you not listening to me? All of us have to leave again…we have to drop everything and go, which means Caroline and Grace have to up their lives again." He looked around and saw a few of Graces things on the floor "Do you know how hard it is for me to see them go through this every day, to wake up and know that it may be the last day I get with them?"

Damon stared at him, caught out by his confession "Caroline knew what she was getting into…"

"And that makes it alright does it? You think because she knows what's going on, it's ok? That it makes it easier to put my family in danger? All want Damon is to have a nice house, where we all live together, where Caroline and I can raise Grace, give her the childhood that you and I never got. I want to Marry Caroline, spend eternity with her."

Damon nodded "Then it's what we'll do. Elena and I planned for that future Stefan and there's not a day go by I don't think about how much she would love all of this. She always wanted you and Caroline together you know?"

Stefan laughed "yeah I kind of got that impression on a few occasions." He smiled "I should go and talk to Caroline, tell her what's going on. If you hear smashing then you may need to come and save me". He said Jogging up the stairs calling Caroline's name. He checked all of the upstairs rooms, panicking when she wasn't there. "Caroline's gone" Stefan said reappearing down stairs.

"What? Gone, gone where?" Damon frowned drinking yet another glass of Bourbon.

"I don't know, she's not in the house, neither is Grace."

"Well where are they?"

"If I knew I wouldn't be panicking would I?" Stefan asked, reaching into his back pocket for his phone. "Come on Caroline… pick up" he said frustrated she wasn't answering. "Caroline, when you get this call me back please, let me know you're ok." He placed his phone down and looked at Damon "She's not answering. DO you think she's ok?"

"This is Caroline we're talking about, she'll be fine. She's allowed out of the house Stefan. Which remind me, we need to look for some place to go…what about…"

"Do not under any circumstance say Vegas, Damon." Stefan warned "If we have to go then it's somewhere safe, and somewhere you can't get in trouble!"

Damon placed his hand over his chest "Are you suggesting I attract trouble? Brother I'm hurt!"

"I'm not suggesting it Damon I'm telling you. Trouble follows you." Stefan said and picked his keys up from the side.

"Where are you going?"

"To find Caroline." He said "She doesn't do this…" as he was about to leave the front door opened and Caroline steeped in Pushing Graces pushchair inside. She was barely though the door when Stefan embraced her, forgetting about the spell that was on Caroline before he left. He held her tight, his arms encasing her "Where have you been?" he asked kissing her forehead as she pulled away "I've been so worried"

Caroline smiled at him shaking her head "Gracie and I went exploring with Auntie Bonnie." She said "I left a note…"

"You didn't, I didn't get it" Stefan frowned

"I left one, right…" She walked into the kitchen and pulled a small square of paper from the fridge "here…" she said taking the note and handing it to him

Stefan looked a little guilty "Sorry, I didn't see it, I got worried." He moved to hug her again "I guess Bonnie removed the spell means as I'm not being thrown over the other side of the room?"

Caroline chuckled "yes. Bonnie removed the spell, we have a lot to thank her for" She briefly looked at Grace who was still asleep her teddy tucked under her arm as she sucked on her thumb. "and as much as I hate to say it, Enzo too. The two of them have managed to send the Heretics right into hunter territory"

Damon stood up and placed his hand on Caroline's shoulder "Let me stop you there Blondie, before you get all giddy with happiness…"

"Damon…" Stefan warned, his tone suggesting to back off.

She saw the look between the two brothers and scowled, her hand on her hips. "Explain!" she said aiming her word at Stefan.

"We may have a problem…"

"When don't we? What is it now?" she sighed

"On a positive note, Grace and her connection to Valerie is no longer" He said

"You got her to remove it?" Caroline said shocked "Wow…"

"That would be my hard work Blondie" Damon added "You can thank me later"

"Yeah, she may want to hear the bad news before she gets the celebration banners out Damon." Stefan said pointedly "Thanks to Damon's torture techniques, Valerie got really pissed and she's now made a deal…"

"A deal with who?" It was clear from her tone that Caroline was annoyed, well angry would be a better word.

"The hunter." Stefan told her softly "She made a deal…our location for the heretics."

"But the heretics are probably dead by now." Caroline frowned

"Nope, because thanks to Valerie they have a protective spell on them, which she wasn't going to use until Damon tortured her to within an inch of her life"

"Great." Caroline sighed running her hands over face. "What exactly is it we're going to do now then ha? Fight?"

Damon raised his eyebrows "We're going on a little road trip Blondie." He said walking past her and began to climb the stairs.

"Is he serious?" She asked

"Unfortunately." Stefan confessed "If we're lucky we'll be able to leave before Valerie spills our location. So we need to go." He took he hands and held them tight "This is why I didn't want to bring you into all of this Caroline, it's not fair on you or Grace to keep having to move our lives around…"

"Don't Stefan, please." She said, tears forming in her eyes, she couldn't handle him 'letting her go' again. It would break her heart. "Please don't make us go different ways"

His fingers found her hair, letting her blonde curls fall through his fingers "I'm not going to… do you really think I'd be able to survive without out you and Grace?" She didn't say anything "The answers no Caroline. I wouldn't survive. So we're going to go and pack our things and leave this city…" he said pressing his lips to her cheek.

She nodded "Where will we go?"

"I've no idea, but I Vetoed Vegas." He laughed "where do you want to go?" she smiled crookedly at him "I'm serious, why do you want us to go?"

"Home" she said sadly and Stefan returned the sad smile.

"You know we can't go back there, as much as I love you and Grace, that the one place I won't let you go, we can't go to that home…"

"I know" Stefan watched as she moved away from him, speeding up the stairs and returning with a folded piece of paper in her hand. She unfolded it and lay it on the coffee table, revealing a map similar to the one she'd used to find him. "Let's find a new home then…" she closed her eyes and circled her finger over the map, placing it on a random state.

Stefan smiled, his arms around her waist from behind "Kanas? Hmm I think we can work with that"

 **only one more chapter left :( what do you think we'll see in the final instalment ? x**


	13. Chapter 13

3 months later…

"Grace, Daddy Said no" Stefan warned as Grace teetered on her feet towards the cake that was on the kitchen worktop.

"Peas…" she pouted, her puppy dog eyes staring right back at him.

Stefan walked over to her picking her up into his arms "You look just like your mother when you do that" He kissed her cheek and swiped his finger across the side of the cake so it collected a little frosting. He held towards Grace who had quickly put in her mouth. "Do not tell Mama" He said "Or Daddy will be told off…"

"Too late, Mama saw" Caroline appeared beside them, tickling Grace as she tried to hide in Stefan's arms. "She has you wrapped around her little finger, Stefan Salvatore."

"Yeah, she's not the only one" He smiled kissing Caroline's cheek. He placed Grace back on the floor, straightening her littler dress out as he did so "Go play baby girl…" Grace gave him one of her biggest smiles and toddled off (a little wobbly) towards her toys in the corner. "Did you get everything you needed?"

Caroline nodded "Yes and some things we probably didn't need either. Was Grace ok?"

"She was as good as ever. Oh and she's learnt a new word" Stefan confessed, he took the shopping back from Caroline and the two of them began to unpack.

"She did? Did you teach her or was it Damon, because if it's anything like the last few words he taught her I don't want to know." She shook her head remembering how wonderful Uncle Damon had tried, and half succeeded to teach Grace to say "Baby Vamp" which hadn't particularly gone down well with Caroline.

"Actually this was all me, it's nothing bad I promise. Grace can now say 'no way' and she uses it in the right context too."

"How? What on earth were you talking about and with who?" Caroline laughed slightly.

"I was talking with Damon on the phone, he was trying to organise a little trip and the destination was not somewhere I would like to go so my words were 'no way'. But it looks as if little ears were listening and I heard a little echo of no way from our little baby."

Caroline pouted just as Grace had do earlier "She's growing up too fast…can you believe she's one tomorrow? One Stefan!"

"I know. Time seems to have flown by since I got you back in my life." He said, his arms looping round her waist and pulling her flush against him. He kissed her softly and then again, the kiss heating when they heard a crash from the other room followed by and 'oh oh'. Caroline groaned, her head falling back.

"I cannot wait for Wednesday night, when we get this place to ourselves and Grace gets some well-deserved time with her Aunt Bonnie." Caroline said walking off into the lounge to see Grace sat on her bottom surrounded by a pile of books.

"Mama! Oh oh" Grace proclaimed as Caroline approached her and lifted her from the floor.

"You little trouble maker" Caroline said, tickling Graces sides "Did you make all this mess?" she shook her head "No, Did daddy do it?"

"Dadda?" her eyes suddenly perked up having heard her Daddies name, she was all about Stefan at the moment, although she did still have a soft spot for her Mama too.

Stefan appeared a few seconds later, having packed the shopping away, "Grace Salvatore, have you been causing a riot?" he took her from Caroline and Sat on the floor with her, trying to show her some of the little animals in the toy box, but Grace had other ideas. With a little wobble she wonder back into the kitchen, standing up and holding onto the chair leg for support.

"What's she doing?" Caroline frowned, moving from tidying the books into the kitchen. She couldn't help but laugh as she saw Grace pointing at the cakes on the counter.

"Mama, pease…" Graces little face and pout completely melted Caroline's heart.

"I'm sorry baby girl but it's nearly time for your lunch." She moved and lifted Grace again, removing her from the kitchen as she started to cry. "You can have all the cake you like tomorrow at your party baby girl" she kissed her forehead and sat on the sofa trying to calm her down.

"Oh dear…" Stefan had obviously heard his daughters pleas for more cake and definitely didn't envy Caroline for having to say no. Neither of them were particularly strict with grace but out of the two of them, Stefan gave in more easily. "she I get her lunch ready?"

"Yeah, there's some pasta in the fridge" Graces cries turned to a sniffle and she looked at Caroline "Is Pasta your favourite Gracie?" grace made a 'mmm' sound and began to giggle. "You're getting so big baby girl, you'll be all grown up soon and going off to school. Making friends and begging your daddy not to torture anyone who upsets you"

"I wouldn't go that far Caroline..." Stefan said taking Grace from her and placing her in the high chair. He put the past on the tray, smiling as Grace dove right in and began to squish the past into her mouth.

The two stood watching their daughter smiles on their faces "We did good didn't we ?" Caroline asked, leaning her head on Stefan's shoulder "Stefan?"

"yeah?"

"Can we put the fire on?" she asked and Stefan smiled, a fire always made her feel at home, made her feel grounded.

"Of course we can...i'll set it to the third bar right?"

She nodded smiling, she was home, she was happy and they had a life time of love ahead of them.

 **So sorry it took so long for this to be posted, and i'm sorry it's so crappy but I really struggled to finish this off :( anyway I hope you liked it and I have a new story in the process and two new one shots posted :) check them out :) xxx**


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